


Coins, Flasks, Sabers, Staves

by Meggory



Category: Chewie and the Porgs (Book), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: But Not the Good Kind, Gen, Pirates, Sabacc, bloodthirsty droids, blue puff cubes, corellian brandy, making han proud, whose ship is it anyway?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 04:59:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13990974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meggory/pseuds/Meggory
Summary: Chewie and Rey set out from D'Qar to find Luke Skywalker, but that bantha's arse can wait, because Chewie has something he has to do, first.





	Coins, Flasks, Sabers, Staves

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SnarkAndSparkle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnarkAndSparkle/gifts).



> Hey folks! SnarkAndSparkle wanted a story of shenanigans between the point when the Falcon leaves D'Qar and arrives on Ach-to, so please enjoy! The archive warning is for canon death, not anyone new.

As the _Millenium Falcon_ ducked under the ring of rock surrounding D'Qar, Chewbacca sneaked a glance at the young human in the co-pilot's seat. Her eyes were wide, glittering with adventure, but she held her mouth with a tautness that suggested she was not entirely thrilled—whether it was leaving the comatose boy or the daunting task of coming face to face with Luke Skywalker, he was not sure.

Han would have known. He would have said something glib and gruff and exactly what she needed to hear.

But Han was gone.

A low growl escaped him, and Rey glanced at him in concern. "What? Did I input the course wro—"

 _:There's something we need to do, first,:_ he told her.

"But Master Skywalker—I have to find him, Chewie."

 _:That bantha's arse can wait,:_ retorted Chewbacca, enjoying the shock that flickered over the girl's face. He stabbed his fingers against the navicomputer and set a new course.

 

Cloud City's landing platform had seen better days. Chewbacca's eyes noted the scorch marks and scarring from First Order blaster fire as he ducked out of the _Falcon_ with Rey and R2-D2 in tow. Standing at the doorway in just enough disarray that suggested he had run, Lando Calrissian crossed his arms across his chest. At the edge of the doorway, Chewbacca spotted the ever-silent Lobot, who eyed the new arrivals with a flat, even stare. "You don't call, you don't write? You didn't even let me know you found my ship?"

Chewbacca chuckled to himself before he realized that Lando was too relaxed; he hesitated slightly and Rey glanced up at him. "His ship?" she asked.

A joke, it had been once, but now—

Lando took a step forward, a deepening frown tugging down the edges of his moustache. "Chewie, where's Han?"

Rey shuddered next to him. _:I've come to return the_ Falcon _, as per your agreement with him.:_

"Return the _Falcon_?" cried Rey while Lando's face drained of blood.

"How?" he croaked. When Chewbacca did not answer, Lando walked right up and pushed the Wookiee with both hands. Artoo whistled with concern. "How, damn you?!"

The words would not come. He could still feel the heartbreak and rage as he pulled the trigger, knowing his aim was not true. He had seen the little boy instead of the monster, and Chewbacca had failed them all. Rey cleared her throat. "Kylo Ren," she said softly.

A quiet, strangled noise was the only reply. Lando turned on his heel and stalked away.

 

"This is what you needed to do first?" Rey asked incredulously, pacing aggresively across the circular, white quarters that bore an uncomfortable resemblance to those Chewbacca had stayed in before the unpleasantness with Han and the carbonite. "Fly in the wrong direction and give up your ship?"

 _:It's not my ship,:_ retorted Chewbacca. _:It never was.:_

"But you're Han's co-pilot! His right hand man!" She bared her teeth, but he knew she was not truly challenging him to a fight. Humans' body language was generally a speederwreck, and he had learned to ignore most of it. "The ship should be yours, Chewie!"

 _:You know some things, Rey, but you don't know the entire story,:_ he chided her.

[She has a point,] beeped Artoo. [Calrissian was not the one who spent years looking for the _Millenium Falcon_.]

Chewbacca had no qualms about yelling at a droid. _:Stay out of this, you rust bucket!:_

[Oh, good, the walking carpet has returned.]

Rey clenched her fists as if she wished she had her staff, but she managed to keep her voice calm. "You can't give up the ship, Chewbacca. I won't let you."

 _:It's not up to you, child,:_ he snapped.

"He's right." Lando's voice cut through their argument. Leaning against the doorframe, eyes hard, he stared hard at the Wookiee. "It's not up to you. According to the bargain we struck, the ship is mine now."

Rey marched up to him and crossed her arms sharply over her chest. "You can't have it," she said flatly.

"Han and I played for that ship with the understanding that ownership reverted to the other when one of us died," retorted Lando. "The _Falcon_ belongs to me—"

"I stole it," Rey announced suddenly, "from Unkar Plutt. The _Falcon_ 's mine."

Lando's eyes widened in disbelief; he glanced at Chewbacca, who shrugged and nodded confirmation. The Wookiee had not considered this possibility in his grief, but by the rules of piracy, the girl was correct. "But it wasn't Plutt's to steal!" sputtered Lando.

"Plutt stole it from the Irving Boys, and they stole it from Gannis Ducain, and he stole it from Han," retorted Rey. "Which means I stole that ship fair and square and I say Chewie can have it."

The sheer determination in the girl's features reminded Chewbacca so much of the young Princess of Alderaan that he had to swallow a laugh. Lando must have seen the same; he straightened and ducked his head slightly, a slow smirk crossing his dark face. "Might I propose a solution that would be both fair and satisfying to us both?"

Rey, however, was not actually a trained diplomat, prepared for leers and innuendo with twisting deflections and charming laughter. Without warning, she struck out and punched Lando squarely in the eye. The man howled in surprise and pain, cradling his face with his hands. "What the karking hells was that for?!" he cried, roving his other eye to catch a glimpse of Chewbacca.

The Wookiee snickered while Artoo blatted in amusement. _:That's a traditional Jakku greeting.:_

Flexing her fist surreptitiously behind her back, Rey frowned at both of them. "No, it's not."

"Then why did you punch me?" demanded Lando pitifully. "I was just suggesting we play for the ship!"

"That was _not_ what you were suggesting," argued Rey. "If you wanted to play for the ship, you should have said, 'let's play for the ship.'"

[She makes a logical point,] whistled Artoo, still amused.

"Thank you, Artoo," replied Rey, patting the droid's carbon-scored dome affectionately.

Lando stabbed his fingers towards Chewbacca as he prodded at his cheekbone with his other hand. "Your co-pilot is insane."

 _:Technically, I'm_ her _co-pilot,:_ retorted Chewbacca with a snort. _:Your eye is fine. Stop whining.:_

Glaring at his furry friend, Lando crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine. We play sabacc for the _Falcon._ "

 _:Deal,:_ said Chewbacca, but Lando shook his head and jabbed his thumb at the girl.

"Not you. Her." Rey's eyes widened in surprise.

"What's sabacc?" she asked curiously, and Lando's face became exceedingly bland.

"A card game."

[There is a sabacc deck on-board the _Millenium Falcon_ ,] Artoo announced helpfully.

Lando shrugged casually. "I can have a sabacc table waiting for us downstairs in the Card Hall within the hour."

 _:No!:_ Chewbacca rose to his feet, marched over to the former pirate and loomed over him. _:There's only one sabacc table you'll play at, Lando Calrissian, and it's not on Bespin.:_

"You don't trust me Chewbacca? You wound me." Lando placed his hands over his heart, but Chewbacca merely glowered at him. Returning the steely look was impossible with a rapidly-swelling eye; after a beat, Lando laughed. "Fair enough. I heard about Takodana, though. You know where she is?"

A wide smile crept over his face; humans would see the smile, but miss the hint of predation. _:Of course I know where she is. I'm her boyfriend.:_

 

Chewbacca shooed her out of the cockpit, so Rey wandered into the lounge and slid behind the holographic game table. Her fingers tapped nervously on the smooth surface. Artoo rolled up to her and whistled curiously. [You are troubled?]

"I don't know how to play this card game," she hissed. "I've never even heard of it."

Artoo beeped in alarm. [That is indeed troubling. Lando will win the game.]

"I won't let him!" Rey clenched her fingers into a fist and regretted the sting of her sore knuckles. There was a reason she hit people with her staff, not her hands.

[You have little time to learn. Sabacc is a complex game.]

The former scavenger rubbed the back of her neck, then slowly turned her gaze to the little astromech droid. "Artoo, do you know how to play?"

He beeped an affirmative. [My memory banks have contained the rules of sabacc since Ahsoka Tano decided to teach CT-7567 Captain Rex during the mission to hunt the _Malevolence_ in 22 BBY.]

Rey shot him a curious look. "You've never had a memory wipe since the Clone Wars?"

[I have never had a memory wipe. Ever.] Droids should not sound sly, and yet, Artoo managed it.

With a grin, Rey patted his dome. "Good on you." Drumming her fingers again over the tabletop, she asked, "Will you teach me?"

[Open that panel to the right of your hand. Han Solo kept his sabacc deck inside.]

Rey popped open the panel worked into the edge of the table and fished around until her fingers found a rectangular package. The cards, bound together with a wide blue elastic that had seen better days a decade ago, fit neatly in her palm. Though they were just laminated flimsi, old and worn with a picture of a partially-clothed Twi'lek woman printed on the back of each card, a peculiar feeling suffused her as she held them; laughter and concentration, sharp intensity and mellow amusement—when she closed her eyes, she could smell leather and spacedust and a familiar aftershave. This was not just a sabacc deck. This was _Han Solo's_ sabacc deck, and the cards remembered. "There's a lot of them," she mused slowly, still in awe of the feeling in her fingertips.

[There are no card games on Jakku?] Artoo asked.

"Only if you had something to bet," replied Rey as she pulled off the elastic. "A few people I knew used to play a game with dice that I carved out of bone."

[There are seventy-six cards in a sabacc deck. There are four suits: coins, flasks, sabers, and staves. Each suit has fifteen cards. Flip the cards face up until you see one of each suit,] the droid instructed.

She nodded, concentrating firmly as she turned over the cards from the top of the deck and set them in an array on the tabletop. As she pointed at the card nearest her left hand, she named the suit with a hint of questioning. "This one has coins?"

[Six of coins,] agreed Artoo.

A sudden strike of a boot heel on the metal floor grating startled her; Rey snapped her gaze up to find Lando watching her from the doorway with a smug look on his face. "What do you want?" she groused.

"Just looking for something to eat. Did you two not restock before taking off?" He approached the table and narrowed his eyes slightly at the cards on the table.

"In there." She pointed to the cupboard above the table closest to him then went back to studying the cards. The first one she had flipped over did not have a suit; the dark line art reminded her of the dead Star Destroyers marring the landscape of Jakku. Lando sat across from her and offered her the open bag of blue puff cubes. Taking one automatically, she tapped the card with her free fingers. "What is this?"

"That's the Destroyed Starship," replied Lando, but his gaze settled on the girl. "It's the worst card in the entire deck."

Rey hummed and took a bite of her treat. The sticky, chewy confection coated her tongue, and she smacked her lips at the overwhelming sweetness. "This is terrible," she declared with disgust, but popped the remainder in her mouth. Food was not to be wasted, no matter how atrocious.

"Why, were you divining?"

Rey wrinkled her brow. "Do you ever just say what you mean?"

"Come to think of it, not really," replied Lando with a quirk of his lips.

"I was talking about that disgusting blue puff cube."

"Oh!" He shrugged. "They're better when you toast them. What I meant was the Destroyed Starship card means impending, cataclysmic disaster if you're trying to tell the future."

Rey stared at the card, tracing the lines of a broken Star Destroyer with her eyes. Something fleeting within her sent a shiver down her spine. Shoving the card back into the middle of the deck, she cleared her throat. "Well, I wasn't. Fortune telling."

"Practicing?"

Before Rey could snipe back at him, the _Falcon_ shook around them; they could hear Chewbacca's cursing from the cockpit over the ear-splitting rattles of loose bolts vibrating in their sockets. _:We're about to be boarded!:_

 

The four occupants of the _Millenium Falcon_ waited at the docking port with blasters at the ready. Rey glanced nervously at Chewbacca, who held his bowcaster with a steady, unconcerned expression. "Are you sure we shouldn't just hide and take them by surprise?"

 _:Not with these ones,:_ he replied as the port hissed and slid open. A Weequay wearing goggles and a helmet stepped over the threshold and stared at each of them in surprise.

"You're not Unkar Plutt," he said with a frown. "The last I'd heard, he had this ship."

 _:And yet you're standing on our deck,:_ growled Chewbacca, and the Weequay eyed him once more.

"Chewbacca! It is good to see you, and in one piece!" The Weequay gestured expansively, and Rey winced at the volume of his voice. "And who might this lovely young lady be?"

Silently, Rey glowered at him and made a show of checking her blaster grip. From beneath the Weequay's ostentatious purple coat, an odd and ugly little creature clambered up onto his shoulder. The Weequay chuckled and patted the creature on the head. "But where are my manners? I am Hondo Ohnaka, at your service." Hondo bowed with a predatory smile.

Lando, however, scoffed. "The Ohnaka gang is small potatoes."

"Chewbacca, you've traded the great Han Solo for this rude nobody who clearly does not know how to duck a punch?" Hondo said, sounding scandalized.

"Nobody?! I—"

 _:You haven't retired yet, Hondo?:_ retorted Chewbacca tiredly as he cut off the mortally offended Lando's protest.

"Alas, I tried, but retirement is entirely too uneventful for Hondo. I was never meant to be bored. So I decided to come looking for my ship, and you have very conveniently brought it to me."

" _Your_ ship?" Rey snapped.

"Unkar Plutt stole it from me," replied Hondo with a dramatic flourish of his fingers, "in a despicable show of distrust and atrocious manners—"

Annoyed, Rey cut him off with a vicious snort. "No, Unkar Plutt stole it from the Irving Boys, and the Irv—"

"I stole it from those idiot Irving Boys. They left the engines running, and what could Hondo do but take the invitation they so graciously extended?" Hondo shrugged. "The point is, I am extremely happy to see my old ship again, and I thank you profusely for returning it to me. Good day!"

Chewbacca whuffed unhappily, but Rey took a step forward and pressed the nose of her blaster into Hondo's chest. "It's not your ship, pirate."

With narrowed eyes, Hondo finally settled his full attention on her. "I say it is."

[I can depressurize the docking clamps,] Artoo beeped helpfully. [I can guarantee I would be the survivor, therefore I would own the ship.]

Hondo recoiled slightly. "Your droid is a bit bloodthirsty." After a beat, he added, "And he looks familiar."

"He's also correct," Lando said.

Hondo was silent for a moment, then raised his arms with a smile. "I propose a solution, fair for everyone! My mother always said never alienate your friends unless your profit is sure, and certainly, I want to keep my dear old compadre Chewbacca on my side!"

 _:I've never been on your side, Hondo,:_ growled Chewbacca, leaning towards the pirate menacingly.

"Sabacc!" cried Hondo with the kind of enthusiasm that held an edge of desperation. "We'll play for the ship!"

"What? No!" Rey protested.

 _:Agreed,:_ rumbled Chewbacca instantly. _:We've already made reservations at a table. I'll send you the coordinates. You can follow us there.:_

"My ship will follow, but I believe I'll stay on board with you fine folks. Just so there are no … misunderstandings." Hondo smiled without mirth, showing all of his yellowed teeth.

Lando rolled his eyes, but he motioned for Hondo to precede him into the lounge. "If you'll follow me?"

As the pirate wandered away, exclaiming loudly about the state of the ship with Lando close on his heels, Rey whirled towards Chewbacca. "What are you doing?" she hissed, and Chewbacca ignored the way she put her hands on her hips; another Wookiee might have dismembered her for it.

 _:Don't underestimate Hondo Ohnaka. He may sound like a fool, but he's been a pirate since before the Clone Wars and his gang is loyal. He's … unpredictable, that one, and beating him in sabacc is the only way short of killing him that we'll ever walk away with this ship in one piece,:_ he told her seriously. The little frown on her face deepened as she shook her head.

"Chewie, I don't know how to play this stupid card game," she whispered, glancing nervously towards the lounge. "I'm going to lose."

He stilled completely. Unblinking, he loomed over her. _:I thought you were teasing Lando.:_

She shook her head so emphatically that the three knots of hair bounced against her scalp. "I wasn't."

Chewbacca hid his face in his hands, fought the urge to scream because it would alert Hondo _karking_ Ohnaka, then jabbed his finger in the direction of the cockpit. _:Get in there. Now.:_

 

Rey tossed her handful of cards on the console with a frustrated growl that Chewbacca echoed. "I'm never going to get this," she grumbled, her frustration palpable.

He did not answer; the navicomp began to beep, and he flicked the switch to silence it. _:We're out of time, anyway. Coming out of hyperspace now.:_

A bright blue and red jewel hung in space before them, ringed with a thin rope of dust that circled the poles, not the equator. White wispy clouds swirled above the landmasses. Rey's eyes widened with wonder, even as she expertly began transferring power to the sublight engines. "Where are we?"

 _:It has no official name,:_ replied Chewbacca as he punched a code through the comm system. _:But in certain circles, it's known as The Woodwork.:_

"Neat," breathed Rey. She opened her mouth to ask the next obvious question, but a tiny niggling feeling, like someone plucking a string in the back of her mind, answered it first. "Maz is down there."

_:Why do you sound so nervous about that?:_

Ducking her head more than the landing strut check procedure required, Rey muttered, "She—I—things happened on Takodana."

 _:An understatement,:_ retorted Chewbacca darkly. _:Maz is the most terrifying person I've ever met in my life, and I knew Jedi before the Empire.:_

Rey made a noise in her throat that sounded like agreement. "She tried to give me a lightsaber."

Stunned, Chewbacca barked at her _:What lightsaber?:_

"She said it belonged to Master Skywalker," said Rey, turning in her seat to fish around the canvas bag that held her meagre possessions. She hesitated for a moment then pulled it out, wincing a little at the flash of darkness she felt hidden in the wash of feelings that hit her when her fingers touched the hilt.

Chewbacca narrowed his eyes, sharply cataloging the details. _:That's Luke's first lightsaber. He lost it on Bespin, along with his hand, thanks to Vader.:_

As if in a dream, Rey murmured what the little voice in her mind whispered to her. "It was used for evil. Long ago, but the crystal remembers." A whine of warning escaped him, breaking the connection between her and the kyber crystal. She shivered.

"Where in the seven hells did a desert mouse like you find Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber?" Hondo stood in the doorway of the cockpit, hands braced on the bulkhead, staring with open-mouthed wonder at the silver hilt in Rey's hand.

Startled, Rey shoved the weapon back in her bag and settled the canvas on her lap. "Who?" she asked flatly, focusing her attention on the console readout.

"I saw many lightsabers before the Empire," Hondo said, his voice low with remembrance. "I would never forget the sword of such a brave Jedi Knight." Suddenly, a laugh erupted from him. "Technically, I should be the owner of that particular lightsaber."

Rey scoffed. "How's that, Hondo?"

 _:You'd stab yourself if you tried to activate it,:_ added Chewbacca with a snicker.

Hondo stepped forward and poked his torso between the two pilots with an oily grin. "I stole it fair and square from Count Dooku—he turned out to be a Sith Lord, you know, so I suppose I actually rescued it—but when Anakin asked me for his weapon back—nicely, I might add, so very nice that young man, for a Jedi—that what could Hondo do but acquiesce?"

"So it's not yours at all," replied Rey with a fake smile. "And don't call me a desert mouse, or I'll give you a traditional Jakku greeting to match Lando's."

Chewbacca howled with laughter, making Hondo wince and jerk away from the noise. _:Go strap in. We're landing.:_

 

The red-leaved forest ended abruptly in a large clearing wide enough to house three ships the size of the _Falcon_ and an ugly, squat building cobbled together from hewn stone. Chewbacca stood at the bottom of the loading ramp, feeling like a particularly underpaid nerfherder as the other beings on board nattered amongst themselves a few paces away. Artoo rolled to a halt next to him and beeped quizzically. [The girl will lose the game. She does not know how to play. I should just take the ship and fetch Master Luke myself. It would spare me your ridiculous delays.]

 _:Try it, and I'll tell Leia that you've never had a memory wipe,:_ snarled Chewbacca.

[As if she does not already know,] Artoo retorted smugly. [She likes it. She says it is part of my charm.]

 _:Charm, my furry arse. Then stay and protect your potential asset,:_ Chewbacca said wryly. _:I'll contact you when we're ready to leave.:_

A single, annoyed blatting noise was Artoo's reply. With a rude hand gesture common in Hutt space, Chewbacca set out across the clearing and assumed the others would follow him. Rey caught up with him quickly, her eyes darting to take in everything around her. "You have to stop this," she insisted under her breath. "It's insane. We can't afford to lose the ship. Master Skywalker is waiting."

 _:It's exactly what Han would want, and you're not going to lose,:_ he replied softly, not daring to add _I hope._ Glancing over his shoulder, he barked, _:Hurry up! We have places to be!:_

The large, wooden door slammed open; the thunder of it hitting the stone wall echoed across the clearing. In the doorway, Maz Kanata stood, goggles on and arms crossed over her chest. "You didn't call first," she snapped. She did not raise her voice, but it still reached them like a whipcrack.

Lando, Chewbacca, and Hondo all replied, talking over each other the way birds try to get a word in edgewise.

"Maz, it's been so long—"

_:How could I have called—:_

"My darling Maz, surely you'll take pity—"

Rey was staring at them in fascinated horror.

Maz's foot started tapping impatiently. With a deep, steeling breath, Chewbacca loosened his stride and arrived at the threshold first. "I know why you're here, my dear," she said softly. Her eyes held so much pity and compassion that he wanted to look away. "I felt it. I'm sorry. Han was part of your honour family, and it is right you come to remember him."

 _:I should avenge him,:_ he managed.

"It won't bring him back. Either of them." She shook her head fiercely. "That boy made his choice and keeps choosing it. The little hellion who used you like a climbing frame and a teddy bear  is no more, Chewbacca." Patting his arm gently, Maz peeked around his fuzzy leg and narrowed her eyes beneath her fishbowl goggles. "I sent you for milk five years ago, Hondo Kanata-Ohnaka."

The pirate's wide smile dimmed fractionally as he collected his wits about him. Doffing his helmet, he knelt in front of the pirate queen and kissed the tip of her boot. "My beloved Maz, if I were to tell you the harrowing tale of what prevented my return to you, it would take decades off your life."

"He's your husband?" blurted out Rey in disbelief.

"One of them," replied Maz, her voice hard and unimpressed as she stared down at the Weequay prostrating himself at her feet. "Get up, you old fool."

Hondo scrambled to his feet, his knees snapping with the effort. As he replaced his helmet, Maz tapped a spot on her cheek and cleared her throat. "Ah! All is forgiven, then?" said Hondo as he leaned down and placed a dry peck of his lips against Maz's wrinkled skin.

"Not even close," she replied, turning into the building. "Lando Calrissian, you may be a legitimate businessman these days, but you still owe me one thousand credits."

Lando frowned. "How do you make one thousand?" he muttered.

"With pre-Empire interest rates," she replied without looking over her shoulder.

" _Kark_ ," he muttered, motioning for Rey to precede him into the dark corridor.

  


Maz led them through a dark, narrow corridor that turned sharply before opening into a balcony overlooking a cavernous room sunk deep into the ground. Despite the clearing outside being otherwise empty of ships, the room was only slightly less crowded than the palace on Takodana had been before the First Order destroyed it. Charred and tattered banners, once proudly displayed in the courtyard, now hung on the walls in defiance. Maz hesitated at the top of the long, steep set of stairs leading down to the floor. "It's to be sabacc, I take it?"

Chewbacca nodded, and they followed the old pirate queen down the stairs and past a long, polished wood bar. Maz gestured to her bartender without stopping, then led the newcomers through a beaded curtain. "Have a seat," she said, hopping up onto a tall stool that gave her full view of the table with her back against the wall.

"Straight to business?" Hondo said plaintively.

"We have somewhere to be," retorted Rey as she took the chair closest to Maz, who flicked her gaze from the girl to the Wookiee as if to ask why he was not the one playing. Chewbacca shrugged slightly.

_:The ship is hers.:_

"Not yet," retorted Lando, flipping his short cape as he sat down.

Hondo scraped the feet of his chair against the floor with a screeching racket, then placed his helmet on the table. "Let's play, then. I don't have all day."

"And where exactly do you think you're going?" asked Maz, all false sweetness and hidden knives.

"Only where you tell me, my flower."

Rey produced a square packet from her bag and hesitantly pushed it towards Maz. "I found these on the _Falcon_. I think we should use them."

Lando leaned forward and stroked his chin with a tiny smile. "I agree."

"I have no objections, provided my lovely wife agrees," announced Hondo.

Plucking the flimsi cards from the table, Maz removed the elastic and fanned them with her thumb. "They're good," she said. "You all agree to abide by the decision at this table. First one to win a single round of sabacc gets complete ownership of the _Millenium Falcon_ in perpetuity. Anyone caught cheating will suffer the consequences as set out by the house."

"Consequences?" asked Rey.

"I shoot you," replied Maz, but her eyes were only for Hondo, who offered a watery smile.

"One round, Maz?" Lando scoffed. "That's hardly a game!"

"You didn't call first, and I have reservations," Maz retorted, her gravelly voice flat. "One round. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Rey replied, sounding more confident to Chewbacca than he knew she felt. The two men chimed their agreement as well, and Maz nodded to herself.

A raucous clacking of beads announced the bartender, who silently dropped four identical tumblers of amber liquid in front of those seated at the table and handed the last to Chewbacca before disappearing back into the fray of the other room. Rey sniffed at her drink cautiously. "What is this?"

"Corellian brandy," replied Lando with a sad smile. "And not the good stuff. He always said he preferred it to Reserve, but I know it was because he could never afford it." He held up his square glass and admired the way the light glinted off the liquid.

Maz cleared her throat. "To Han Solo," she said quietly.

Rey mimicked her. "Han Solo. He flew the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs." Her breath hitched. "He came to rescue me, and he barely knew me."

"Han Solo. I owed him money," said Hondo, saluting the air with his drink.

 _:Han Solo was my brother,:_ rumbled Chewbacca, his grief washing over him for a moment. Maz was watching him; she said nothing, but she tipped her glass towards him.

For a split second, Lando looked broken. He swallowed roughly. "Han Solo was the best of us," he said.

The table was silent for a beat before the protests started. "Let's not be too hasty," Hondo cautioned, while Maz added, "Best is a subjective word."

 _:He snored and left wet towels on the floor,:_ added Chewbacca.

"He let _Gannis Ducain_ steal his ship right out from under him," Rey noted with a tinge of disappointed disgust.

A snort of laughter escaped Lando, who tapped his glass on the table. "Han Solo."

Together, they knocked back their drinks. Lando grimaced, but poor Rey sputtered as the harsh liquor hit her tongue. Her fine features screwed up into a moue of horrified disgust before she erupted into coughing. With a snicker he knew Han would have echoed, Chewbacca reached over and patted her on the back. "Between blue puff cubes and brandy, I think you're all trying to kill me," she gasped.

A chorus of laughter rippled over the table as Maz started to shuffle the deck.

 

Chewbacca watched, barely able to keep his incredulity in check, as Rey threw her cards down on the table. "Those equal twenty-three," she announced, her words a little thick after a second and third round of brandy. "If I remember correctly, that's—what did you call it, Chewie?"

 _:Pure sabacc,:_ he answered with disbelief. The girl had wiped the floor with her opponents, making plays as if she knew exactly which cards they held. A wide grin spread over her face while Lando stared at her, mouth agape.

"I do remember that means I win," she added.

"I don't believe this," Lando breathed.

Hondo slammed his cards on the table and ignored the reproachful glare of his wife. "How can she have twenty-three? I didn't even have twenty-three, and I have"—he pulled a card out of the cuff of his left sleeve, then another pair of cards from his breast pocket—"alternative cards."

“I remember saying something about shooting cheaters,” Maz intoned.

"So I beat you even though you were cheating," Rey crowed with a giggle.

Hondo looked affronted. "Obviously I did not cheat, otherwise the cards would be in play. Hondo always ensures he's set himself up for success. Congratulations, my dear young lady. I wish you many happy years pulling Wookiee fur out of the air recyclers. If you'll excuse me." Hondo rose from his seat, bowed with a flourish, and disappeared out of the sabacc room.

Rey pushed her chair away from the table. "Well, that's that. The _Millenium Falcon_ officially belongs to me. Come on, Chewie, Master Skywalker awaits."

Instantly sober, Lando narrowed his dark eyes at her. "What do you mean? You found Luke?"

Rey nodded as she accepted the deck of cards back from Maz. The pirate queen stabbed a finger in Rey's direction. "You tell him about what you saw. Tell him you need training, and don't you dare take no for an answer," Maz said with stark seriousness. "Did the boy give you the lightsaber? I told him to take it for you."

With another nod, Rey reached into her canvas bag and withdrew the silver hilt. "It saved us on Starkiller Base."

A strangled moan came from Lando, whose eyes widened at the sight of the old weapon. "You're a Jedi?"

"Not yet," replied Rey with determination.

Lando settled his glare upon Chewbacca. "You let me play sabacc against a Force-sensitive?" Lando threw up his hands. "I thought we were friends!"

 _:She told me she didn't know how to play. Artoo told me she didn't know how to play,:_ replied Chewbacca with a bewildered shrug.

Rey was looking particularly smug. Lando shook his head slowly. "You are the best card shark I've ever met. You had me completely fooled," he said. A sly grin crossed his features. "Han would be laughing his ass off right about now."

"The _Falcon_ wasn't the only thing I took off Unkar Plutt," Rey replied, hefting her bag over her shoulder as Maz cackled on top of her chair. "Now let's get moving!"

"You're going to ditch me with no ride home?" demanded Lando.

Halfway out the door, Rey did not even turn around. "If you happen to be on board before we take off, I guess we'll drop you off."

Chewbacca snickered as Lando bolted out of his chair after her. _Your ship's in good hands, brother._

 

At the end of the loading ramp, Artoo waited next to a crumpled heap of outlaw Weequay. [He attempted to hijack the ship. He was not successful,] beeped the astromech. He sounded too satisfied.

Chewbacca sighed. _:Of course he did.:_

Rey nudged Hondo's ribs with the toe of her boot. The pirate groaned and stirred slightly for a moment; when he stilled, Rey stooped down and rummaged through his large coat pocket and withdrew a handful of lint-covered peggat coins. To Chewbacca's surprise, she dumped the coins into her canvas bag and patted Artoo's dome. "We don't have all day," she told them. "I need to learn about the Force so I can get back to Finn."

"Did you just rob him?" asked Lando, squinting at her.

With a shrug, Rey stepped over Hondo to stand on the ramp. "I left his pockets with alternative contents," she deadpanned before disappearing into the ship.

"That one's trouble," Lando told Chewbacca.

 _:Han wanted to keep her._ :

Lando's smile widened. "Then she's perfect."

From inside the ship, Rey's voice bellowed, "Are you getting on my ship or not?!"

 

**Author's Note:**

> Super enthusiastic thanks to Sanerontheinside for her spectacular beta work! If you enjoyed this story, please leave a comment (even if it's just keyboard smashing) so my voracious muse is satisfied and gives me more ideas to write down. You can also follow me over on the tumbles, at meggory84, where I post prompt fills, deleted scenes, fic previews and general SW mishmash.


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